This invention relates to a tire side member raising and pressure-joining apparatus for raising side members and pressure-joining the raised side members to side wall portions while a toroid-shaped semi-produced tire is being rotated.
Tire side member raising and pressure-bonding apparatus have been known, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 52-108,469. As shown in FIG. 1, such a apparatus includes a disc-shaped pressing roller 2 rotatable about its axis A perpendicular to a rotating axis of a semi-produced tire 1, a column-shaped raising roller 3 rotatable about its axis B perpendicular to the rotating axis A of the roller 2 and a non-rotatable shield 4 arranged between the rollers 2 and 3. With this apparatus, while the toroid-shaped semi-produced tire is being rotated, a side member 5 is raised by means of the raising roller 3 and the raised side member 5 is then pressure-joined to a side wall portion 6 of the tire by means of the pressing roller 2.
However, since roller 3 is rotated about the rotating axis B in parallel with the axis of the semi-produced tire 1 and is also column-shaped, it is very difficult, if not impossible, for the roller 3 to cause a force for raising the side member 5 in an oblique outward direction as shown by an arrow in FIG. 1. Therefore, it takes considerable time to raise the side member 5 by the roller 3, with resulting low production efficiency. What is worse still, the side member 5 is unduly subjected to a force by the roller 3 to cause wrinkles or scratches or flaws in the side member 5. Such wrinkles are also caused by the non-rotatable shield 4 contacting the side member 5.